Oregon State to name starting quarterback for season

Posted by Ben Kercheval on September 13, 2011, 12:41 PM EDT

AP

Redshirt freshman quarterback Sean Mannion got all but seven snaps in Oregon State’s 35-0 shutout loss at the hands of a much better Wisconsin, but it appears the original plan was to use fellow quarterback — and returning starter from a year ago — Ryan Katz more often.

But, the Beavers got behind quickly and Mannion, who appears to be the better true passer of the two, ended up trying to catch up.

Going forward, coach Mike Riley said he’ll probably nix the idea of using a “dual-quarterback” offense — not to be confused with using two quarterbacks, which is still very much in play.

Riley added that he planned to name a starter during the bye week and stick with that decision for the rest of the season, starting with Week 4’s game against UCLA. Based on Week 2’s performance, Mannion would be the natural front-runner.

“It doesn’t mean we won’t have a package for [the No. 2 QB],” Riley said. “There are things they do (better than the other). We have to be ready to use them.”